War is Not a Corporal Work of Mercy

On March 19th U.S.
Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) released a statement
calling for military action against Syria.
[1]
The statement was this:

“We are extremely disturbed by
reports that chemical weapons have been used today in Syria.
President Obama has said that the use of weapons of mass destruction by Bashar
Assad is a ‘red line’ for him that ‘will have consequences.’ If today’s reports
are substantiated, the President’s red line has been crossed, and we would urge
him to take immediate action to impose the consequences he has promised. That
should include the provision of arms to vetted Syrian opposition groups,
targeted strikes against Assad’s aircraft and SCUD missile batteries on the
ground, and the establishment of safe zones inside Syria
to protect civilians and opposition groups. If today’s reports are
substantiated, the tragic irony will be that these are the exact same actions
that could have prevented the use of weapons of mass destruction in Syria.”

Such decisions can be tough to
make. Questions always arise as to whether U.S.
intervention will be, on balance, helpful in the cause of stabilization. With
regard to Syria
in particular there are concerns about the composition of the rebellion, and
whether those who will ultimately replace the Assad government will be friendly
to U.S.
interests. Additionally, there is the U.S.
domestic situation to consider, specifically, a national debt that we are told
is reaching crisis levels, and should not be, therefore, in sufficient health
to withstand yet another foreign military adventure.

But those who take Catholic
social teaching seriously can avail themselves of guidance to help them in
their discernment in such situations by means of the Just War Doctrine. Since
it is anticipated that many of our readers will be of that ilk, it will be
useful to lay out the elements of the doctrine, and try to apply them to the
Syrian situation.

The requirements of the Just War
Doctrine are strict, and each requirement must be satisfied in order to give
moral legitimacy to any military action. One such requirement is that “the
damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be
lasting, grave, and certain….” [2]

To comply with this requirement
it would be necessary that either the United
States was being attacked by Syria,
or that Syria
was launching a serious attack on the community of nations. But neither of
those things are taking place. In fact, no nation is being attacked at all. The
conflict in question is a civil war. The Just War Doctrine, therefore, does not
provide justification for the United States
to launch a military attack against Syria.

This should not prevent the United
States from providing humanitarian
assistance. There is no evil in doing such things as providing medicine to
those who need it, or giving aid to refugees. But the Just War Doctrine reminds
us that our eagerness for good works ought not to wander into military
adventurism, the only inevitable outcome from which will be human suffering.